Order 2014-1-16

Served: January 27, 2014

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 27th day of January, 2014

ORDER CONFIRMING GRANT OF TEMPORARY SLOT EXEMPTION 

AUTHORITY

SUMMARY

By this Order, the Department of Transportation confirms our oral grant on January 24, 2014, 

of pendente lite authority to Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) to operate two 

within-perimeter slot exemptions between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport 

(DCA) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI), until such time as the Department 

grants long-term authority to operate the two slot exemptions pursuant to a reallocation 

proceeding. This grant of an uncontested application for temporary authority will minimize 

consumer inconvenience and is made without prejudice to the Department’s decision on 

longer term authority. 

BACKGROUND

The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, as amended 

by the Vision 100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2003, directs the Department 

to grant slot exemptions at DCA, both within and beyond the airport’s 1,250-mile perimeter. 

These grants are limited in number, and selections of air carriers are made through 

application of specified statutory criteria. See 49 U.S.C. § 41718. 

Application of:

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

For exemptions from 14 C.F.R. Part 93, Subparts 

K and S, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41718(b), 

Special rules for Ronald Reagan Washington 

National Airport (within-perimeter slot 

exemptions)

Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182
-2-

On March 13, 2012, by Order 2012-3-8, the Department issued two within-perimeter slot 

exemptions to Republic Airline Inc. (Republic) to provide nonstop service between DCA and 

MCI. Republic provided the service under the brand of its then-affiliate Frontier Airlines. 

On January 24, 2014, Republic informed the Department by letter that, due to the sale of 

Frontier, Frontier will discontinue its service between DCA and MCI effective February 1, 

2014. Republic further stated in its letter that Republic does not object to a grant of pendente 

lite authority to another carrier, pending, and without prejudice to, the Department’s decision 

on longer term authority. 

After receiving notice from Republic, the Department orally granted Southwest’s 

uncontested1 application for pendente lite authority to use the two within-perimeter slot 

exemptions to continue the service between DCA and MCI.2 In the application, Southwest 

proposed to operate one daily round-trip nonstop service on the route under temporary

authority immediately following the termination of service by Republic/Frontier, arguing that 

this would provide consumers uninterrupted service until the Department could complete a 

slot exemption reallocation proceeding. Southwest intends to use Stage 3, 143-seat Boeing 

737 aircraft. 3 

In support of its proposal, Southwest stated that the Department has granted pendente lite

authority in other cases to maintain the operation of valuable DCA slot exemptions and to 

minimize consumer inconvenience. Among the cases cited by Southwest is the Department’s 

recent grant of interim authority to US Airways for service from DCA to Jackson, 

Mississippi, following written notice to the Department by Delta Air Lines, Inc. of its 

termination of service on this route.4

DECISION

In light of Republic’s notice regarding the discontinuance in service, the Department will 

initiate soon a reallocation proceeding and seek applications from carriers for the longer-term 

operation of the slot exemptions. A grant of pendente lite authority is one of temporary 

character and, in this case, is intended to minimize any inconvenience to travelers and to 

ensure that the slot exemptions are not idled pending the Department’s decision on longer 

term authority. We emphasize that our grant to Southwest of interim authority to operate 

these slot exemptions between DCA and MCI will not give the carrier any benefit or 

advantage in the Department’s application of the statutorily-mandated criteria in the 

reallocation proceeding. All applications will receive full and fair comparative consideration 

of their merits under 49 U.S.C. § 41718(b). 

 1 Republic had previously argued that it did not intend to discontinue its service and that the Department should 

dismiss Southwest’s application. See Answer of Republic Airline, Inc. in Opposition to Application of 

Southwest Airlines Co., DOT-OST-2000-7182-1981 (August 6, 2013), and Motion for Leave to File and 

Response of Republic Airline Inc., DOT-OST-2000-7182-1983 (August 13, 2013). However, in Republic’s 

letter dated January 24, 2014, Republic confirmed that the Republic/Frontier service would cease, and Republic 

stated that it did not object to a grant of pendente lite authority to another carrier. No other objections to 

Southwest’s application were received.

2 Application of Southwest Airlines Co. for Pendente Lite Authority to Serve DCA-MCI. 

DOT-OST-2000-7182-1979. July 30, 2013.

3 Southwest may initially operate the service using aircraft from Air Tran Airways, a wholly-owned subsidiary

of Southwest. 4 Order 2012-1-19 (January 25, 2012).
-3-

As there were no objections to Southwest’s operation of the route under temporary authority, 

and in the interest of conducting the reallocation process while minimizing consumer 

inconvenience, the Department orally granted Southwest’s application on January 24, 2014, 

under the conditions set forth below. 

The oral grant of temporary authority, confirmed by this Order, is made under the authority 

delegated in 49 C.F.R. § 1.25a(b)(4)(ii)(D).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. This Order confirms our grant of interim authority to Southwest Airlines Co. to operate 

nonstop service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Kansas 

City International Airport (MCI) using the two within-perimeter slot exemptions authorized 

by 49 U.S.C. § 41718(b) and previously issued under Order 2012-3-8 to Republic Airline 

Inc., following the cessation of DCA-MCI flights by Republic, until such time as a final 

selection decision is made in the reallocation proceeding and the selected carrier initiates 

service;

2. Any flight operations conducted under this Order remain subject to the terms and 

conditions imposed by Order 2012-3-8, including the use of Stage 3 aircraft and the 

prohibition of use between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m.;

3. Southwest is prohibited by 49 U.S.C. § 41714(j) from buying, selling, leasing, or 

otherwise transferring the exemptions;

4. The authorities granted in this Order are otherwise subject to the other requirements set 

forth in 14 C.F.R. Part 93, Subparts K and S, including, but not limited to, the reporting 

provisions and the use-or-lose requirements; and

5. We will serve this Order on all parties in Docket OST-2000-7182, including Southwest 

Airlines Co., Republic Airline, Inc., the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Kansas 

City International Airport, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Slot 

Administration Office. We further direct Southwest to contact the FAA Slot Administration 

Office to coordinate slot exemption times and identification numbers.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for Aviation

and International Affairs

An electronic version of this document is available online at

www.regulations.gov